1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of used tires storage and more specifically to a method and apparatus for taking used tires and slicing them into rings which are then stacked one on top of the other and compressed. The used tires are thus stored in a compressed flattened condition occupying a minimal amount of space.
2. Prior Art
Used tires represent a major problem in most industrialized countries. Various attempts have been made to burn or recycle used tires but the cost of such operations is so high that the majority of used tires are simply stacked in random piles or buried.
As a result, some areas have huge piles of used tires occupying valuable space and representing a potential hazard for fires which could cause environmental disasters.
To minimize the space occupied by the used tires, the present invention provides a method and an apparatus adapted to slice the tires into rings which are vertically stacked and compressed into flattened discs.
The piles of compressed stacked tires are held together by top and bottom retaining components which allow the tires to be stored in a compressed condition. A plurality of piles can be juxtaposed in order to form structures which can be used as blocks.
A search amongst prior patents revealed an apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,265,224 for stabilizing vertical stacks of tires on a pallet. However, the tires were not previously sliced into rings and thus still occupy a large amount of space.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,545,632, 3,922,942, 4,338,840, 4,338,339 and 4,134,316, all disclosed tire cutting apparatus adapted to cut the used tires according to various patterns. However, only 4,134,316 granted to Billinger discloses an apparatus adapted to cut the tires into annular configurations. Billinger's patent discloses an apparatus for severing tire carcasses through the thread portion in order to reduce the carcasses to a plurality of annular rings. However, the rings are not cut radially and thus are not adapted to be compressed in a flattened configuration.